PARIS — Way back on July 27, Diana Taurasi told a group of reporters she thought France could push the U.S. women’s basketball team as the Americans sought an unprecedented eighth straight Olympic gold medal.

Turns out, the most decorated basketball Olympian of all time knew what she was talking about.

It took 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks from A’ja Wilson — plus a late bucket by Kahleah Copper and crucial block by Breanna Stewart — for Team USA to pull away from a 10-point third quarter deficit and secure a 67-66 win over the host country to win gold Sunday at the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

‘We just knew what we had to do,’ Wilson, who was named MVP of the tournament, said after. ‘We believed in each other and that’s the greatest thing about it.’

With the U.S. clinging to a 62-59 lead, Stewart got a fingertip on France’s 3 attempt, a huge defensive play with 20 seconds to go. At the other end, Wilson hit one of two free throws to make it a two possession game. 

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

France’s Gabby Williams hit a shot at the buzzer but the forward wasn’t behind the 3-point line when it left her hand, leaving France short of tying the game and leaving the U.S. with a one-point victory.

It was a scrappy and sloppy battle, the U.S. shooting just 34% and France shooting 32%. The Americans committed 19 turnovers, leading to 14 points for the French.

Tied 25-25 at halftime, France came out of the locker room and quickly built a 10-point lead, the biggest deficit the U.S. had faced all tournament.

A’ja Wilson dragged US women’s basketball to Olympic gold

A’ja Wilson is the best player on the planet and it’s not even close. The U.S. women’s basketball team have their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal because of it. 

Wilson finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, both game highs. She also had four blocks, including two monster ones early in the third quarter that kept France from pulling away when the Americans couldn’t buy a bucket, be it in Euros, dollars or francs.

This was the ugliest game the U.S. women had in, well, forever. And if we’re being honest, they had no business winning it. They finished with 19 turnovers and were a paltry 19 of 56 (34%) from the floor. But Wilson dragged them to the top of the medals podium. If you can’t appreciate that, if you aren’t impressed by her or are still hung up on who wasn’t on this roster, that’s your problem. Read Nancy Armour’s full column on A’ja Wilson’s gold medal game performance.

USA vs France basketball highlights

Here are highlights from the Americans’ one-point win over France in the Olympic final.

USA holds narrow lead

Gabby Williams hit a long 2 with about 1:30 left, Kahleah Cooper answered with a layup out of the timeout to give the Americans a three-point lead lead with 54 seconeds left. A’ja Wilson made it 63-59 with a free throw with about 20 seconds left before France’s Marine Johannes made a pair of free throws.

Jackie Young fouls out

Big development with 2:34 to play: Jackie Young just picked up her fifth foul for the U.S. and is headed back to the bench.

USA vs France tied up late in 4Q

Things are getting tight. Is this game going to come down to who has the ball last? It very well could. A lot of people tuning in for the first time are surprised at the physicality of the game. Welcome to international basketball. This is usually what it’s like. As for any comments about the refs, just remember that the USA has shot 24 free throws, and France has shot just nine.

USA 45, France 43: End of 3Q

The national emergency appears to be over — for now. A’ja Wilson is getting ticked off, and that’s usually when the Americans start rolling. Wilson is up to four blocks (it feels like more) and dominated that quarter defensively when the U.S. really needed it. She’s got 14 points and 12 rebounds. Two nice Sabrina Ionescu-to-Napheesa Collier baskets also helped the Americans get back into it after trailing by 10.

France isn’t going away though, and we should be in for a heck of a fourth quarter.

Marine Johannes sinks a 3 to tie it up

Marine Johannes sunk a huge 3 with 25 seconds left in the third to tie it at 43-43.

USA retakes lead in third

Kelsey Plum hit a pair of 3s about haflway through the third, and A’ja Wilson came up with two huge blocks to help the U.S. regain a 43-40 lead with 45 seconds left in the third.

France comes out storming in second half

A lot of people thought the U.S. would have a cakewalk to its eighth consecutive gold. France has other ideas. After an 8-0 run that gave the French a 33-25 lead to open the second half, the U.S. needed a timeout to talk things over. This crowd is only going to get louder.

USA vs France score: 25-25 at halftime

We’ve got a ball game, folks. It’s all tied up after a crucial tip-in from Team USA’s Napheesa Collier just before the halftime buzzer.

Real talk: that half was ugly. The U.S. shot 29%, France shot 28% and the teams combined for 19 total turnovers. Goodness. A’ja Wilson has six points but is just 2-of-9 from the field, while Stewart is 1-of-6 with five points. Both Wilson and Collier have nine rebounds each. Gabby Williams leads France with eight points. The U.S. looks sloppy and disjointed and if they want to keep the streak of seven-gold-medals-in-a-row-and- counting going, they’re going to need to clean up a lot in the second half.

Marine Fauthoux nails a 3 to tie it in 2Q

France’s Marine Fauthoux buried a long 3 with 2:45 left in the first half to tie it 23-23. The bucket sent the crowd into a frenzy.

USA vs France score: 15-9, 1Q

Early thoughts: So much for home court advantage. France is not getting any friendly whistles. In fact, they’re getting quite a few unfriendly ones as the French have already been called for seven fouls (the U.S. has been whistled for just one). The Americans are getting to the line a lot, and is already 7-of-10 from the stripe (France has shot zero).

France is getting a lot of good looks, and a lot of offensive rebounds (they already have six). But if they want to win this game, they’ve got to convert some of those looks, especially the ones around the rim (bonus points if they can get some Americans in foul trouble at the same time).

USA makes first substitutions

Kelsey Plum came in for Chelsea Gray with 4:32 left in the first quarter. Shortly after, Alyssa Thomas came in for Breanna Stewart, Kahleah Cooper came in for Jackie Young, and Brittney Griner came in for A’ja Wilson.

What the crowd is like at women’s basketball Olympic final

USA basketball lineup vs. France

Why mess with what works? The Americans are going with their same starting lineup that they’ve had the entire knockout round, with Jackie Young, who has played extremely well the last two games, sticking in the starting lineup as Diana Taurasi stays in a reserve role. Of note: Coach Cheryl Reeve said the other day that in order to win a gold medal, Jewell Loyd has to play well. Watch for her to have a key role off the bench today.

USA women’s basketball coaches

Cheryl Reeve, head coach of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, will serve as the head coach of the 2024 USA women’s national team. Kara Lawson (Duke), Joni Taylor (Texas A&M) and Mike Thibault (Washington Mystics) will serve as Reeve’s assistant coaches. Reeve and her staff previously led the USA women to a gold medal at the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup.

Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird, LeBron James in the house

Basketball legends Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird, LeBron James and Dawn Staley are on hand to watch the U.S. women go for their eighth staight gold medal. Vanessa Bryant is also courtside for the game.

A’ja Wilson Olympic stats

U.S. women’s basketball star A’ja Wilson leds the team in scoring (18.2 points per game), rebounds (9.6), blocks (2.4) and steals (1.6).

Breanna Stewart Olympic stats

Breanna Stewart is second on the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game. She has also averaged 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.

USA vs. France basketball prediction

This game is going to be more challenging than people think. Yes, the U.S. women are a dominant dynasty. But the French crowd is the ultimate sixth (wo)man and will make it tough for the Americans. If France comes out knocking down 3s, it’ll be close for awhile. But the difference, as it usually is, will be A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. No one at the Olympics has had an answer for that dynamic duo. France will be the latest on that list.

What time does USA basketball play today?

USA and France tip off in the Olympic gold medal game at 9:30 a.m. ET.

USA vs France basketball where to watch

The gold medal women’s basketball game will be shown live on NBC and Peacock.

USA women’s basketball scores

Monday, July 29: USA 102, Japan 76
Thursday, Aug. 1: USA 87, Belgium 74
Sunday, Aug. 4: USA 87, Germany 68
Wednesday, Aug. 7: USA 88, Nigeria 74
Friday, Aug. 9: USA 85, Australia 64
Sunday, Aug. 11: USA vs. France, 9:30 a.m. ET in gold-medal game

France’s Gabby Williams, Marine Johannes: What to know

France is led by two standout WNBA veterans in forward Gabby Williams and guard Marine Johannes. Williams loves to attack the rim and finish through contact with her strong frame and Johannes is Caitlin-Clark like in that as soon as she crosses half court, she’s willing to shoot. Iliana Rupert, whose brother plays in the NBA, is also a tough matchup.

Brittney Griner more grateful than ever in Paris Olympics

To outsiders it looks like Griner has moved on quickly from her 10-month detention in Russian custody, a terrifying and isolating stretch of time that would’ve broken most people. When she poses for photos with fans, easily banks in an eight-footer, it looks like things are back to normal. But they’re not, and she’s not. 

“It’s always with me, and there’s definitely moments of like, oh wow this could be totally different — I could be seeing this beautiful view through bars,” Griner said Saturday from USA practice. “It doesn’t go away. It makes you appreciate everything a little bit more too.” 

Olympic basketball gold medal history

The United States has dominated at the Summer Games and has medaled in every Olympics they have competed in (they didn’t compete in 1980 due to a nationwide Olympic boycott).

In total, the U.S. women’s basketball team has won eleven medals – 9 gold, one silver (1976), and one bronze (1992). The U.S. women have won seven straight gold medals dating back to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

USA women’s basketball Olympics roster

The U.S. women’s basketball roster is made up of eight WNBA champions, three WNBA MVPs and five WNBA Rookies of the Year.

Guards: Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Sabrina Ionescu, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Diana Taurasi, Jackie Young
Forwards: Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas, A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier
Center: Brittney Griner

A’ja Wilson’s basketball dominance is driven by joy

A’ja Wilson will keep piling up double-doubles, pushing the boundaries of what a forward in this game can do and, if all goes according to plan, lead the U.S. women’s basketball team to a record eighth straight Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Maybe the crowning of the latest U.S. dynasty, led by an exceptional talent, will make you tune in. If not, Wilson figures, that’s your loss. 

“Forwards, centers, whatever you want to call us, we don’t get the love we should,” Wilson told USA TODAY Sports. “But I don’t pay it any mind because the true fans, the ones who really understand and love the game, they understand how forwards and centers are a huge part. So yeah, I feel like we’re under appreciated. But I love my position.”

Still, the best player in the world knows there’s likely to be more eyeballs than ever on women’s basketball this summer. She can’t wait to put on a show.

USA women’s basketball Olympic gold medals

USA women’s basketball has medaled in every Olympics it has participated, winning a total of 11 Olympic medals, including nine gold, one sliver and one bronze. Here’s how the U.S. women have performed since 1976, when women’s basketball debuted at the Montreal Olympics:

2020, Tokyo: Gold (90–75 win over Japan) 
2016, Rio: Gold (101–72 win over Spain) 
2012, London: Gold (86-50 win over France) 
2008, Athens: Gold (92–65 win Australia) 
2004, Athens: Gold (74–63 over Australia)
2000, Sydney: Gold (76–54 over Australia) 
1996, Atlanta: Gold (111–87 win over Brazil)
1992, Barcelona: Bronze (88–74 win over Cuba in bronze medal game)
1988, Seoul: Gold (77–70 win over Yugoslavia)
1984, Los Angeles: Gold (85–55 win over South Korea) 
1980, Moscow: USA boycotted Olympics due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
1976, Canada: Silver (83–67 loss to Czechoslovakia)

Diana Taurasi Olympic gold medals

Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) are the only two American women’s basketball players to win five Olympic gold medals. Taurasi can become the first to earn six gold medals in Paris. 

Olympics women’s basketball bracket

GROUP STAGE

Sunday, July 28

Spain 90, China 89
Serbia 58, Puerto Rico 55

Monday, July 29

Nigeria 75, Australia 62
Germany 83, Belgium 69
France 75, Canada 54
United States 102, Japan 76

Wednesday, July 31

Spain 63, Puerto Rico 62
Serbia 81, China 59

Thursday, Aug. 1

Germany 75, Japan 64
Australia 70, Canada 65
France 75, Nigeria 54
United States 87, Belgium 74

Saturday, Aug. 3

China 80, Puerto Rico 58
Spain 70, Serbia 62

Sunday, Aug. 4

Belgium 85, Japan 58
Nigeria 79, Canada 70
United States 87, Germany 68
Australia 79, France 72

QUARTERFINALS

Wednesday, Aug. 7

Australia 85, Serbia 67
Belgium 79, Spain 66
France 84, Germany 71
United States 88, Nigeria 74

SEMIFINALS

Friday, Aug. 9

United States 85, Australia 64
France 81, Belgium 75 (OT)

PARIS — In stripping Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal, the International Olympic Committee is not following the precedent it set for itself in the most publicized double-medal controversy in Olympic history.

At the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, in what became known as the French judge scandal, the IOC gave out two gold medals — to Canada and Russia — rather than take the gold medal from the Russian pairs skaters nearly a week after they received it, as it should have. 

At the time, the Olympic figure skating saga had captured global attention and overshadowed practically everything else at those Olympics. So the IOC and International Skating Union wanted to end it as quickly as possible with a resolution that pleased as many people as possible, hence the double gold medals in a second medal ceremony six days after the first, in the same place, on the ice in the skating venue. 

An emailed request for comment to IOC spokesman Mark Adams about why the IOC isn’t doing the same thing here with the gymnastics controversy was not immediately answered Sunday afternoon.

At those 2002 Winter Games, Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won the gold medal on the night of Feb. 11 over Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier even though the Russians had made a mistake in their long program while the Canadians had not. 

A few hours later, USA TODAY Sports reported that the French judge, Marie-Reine Le Gougne, broke down in the lobby of her hotel and told her fellow skating judges that she had been forced to put the Russian pair first in a backroom deal to get the Russian judge’s vote for the French team in the ice dancing competition later in the Olympics. 

The next day, the ISU announced that it would conduct an investigation into the matter, leading to the eventual suspension of both Le Gougne and French federation president Didier Gailhaguet. 

The double-medal ceremony, with all four skaters standing on top of the podium, was held Feb. 17. 

PARIS — Kennedy Blades felt the initially undesired Olympic medal in her hands, looked at it, tossed it slowly to gauge the weight. The she looked at it some more.

Silver was growing on her quickly.

‘It’s still a cool medal,’ she said.

Blades’ surprising Olympic wrestling run ended Sunday with a 3-1 defeat to Japan’s Yuka Kagami, last year’s world champion, in the gold medal match of the women’s 76 kg freestyle competition at Champ de Mars Arena near the Eiffel Tower. The unseeded Blades, a 20-year-old from Chicago in her first Olympics, had won consecutive matches against the tournament’s No. 4, No. 5 and No. 1 seeds to reach the final wrestling match of the Paris Olympics.

Only Kagami, the No. 2 seed, proved too difficult for her in what was a close, low-scoring six minutes. With 1:22 remaining, Kagami was awarded two points for a takedown and then held on in the final moments.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

‘I already knew that I was at this level,’ Blades said, ‘but I just showed the world. Obviously, I did want gold, of course. But second-best thing.’

After waiting through the Paris Games to compete, Blades emerged in the Olympics’ final days as a breakout American star to watch for at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. A clip spread on social media of her picking up Romania’s Catalina Axente and throwing her during a 11-0 victory in Blades’ opening match.

And a wider sporting public has started to learn her story: Blades began wrestling at age 7, and reportedly made history by winning a youth title in Illinois competing against boys. She beat the USA’s Adeline Gray, silver medalist in Tokyo, in the Olympics Trials to make it to Paris.

After Axente, Blades went on to defeat Milaimy Marin Potrille of Cuba (4-3) and top-seeded Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan (8-6).

The Cuban wrestler ended up winning bronze with Colombia’s Tatiana Renteria Renteria.

‘It was really cool that the two bronze medals were also Latina,’ Blades said. “So it was three of us on that podium, and I don’t know if that’s ever really happened. It was really cool that we were able to represent our heritage.”

Blades said she hopes that will help inspire younger Latina athletes and wrestlers.

‘Growing up (in sports),’ she said, ‘I didn’t really have a role model.’

After attending Arizona State University, Blades is set to transfer to the University of Iowa and start fall classes in about 10 days, though ‘I haven’t even seen campus or anything.’

As for her new silver medal? It’s going to her parents.

‘Just because I don’t trust myself,’ she said with a laugh, noting that a couple of previous medals she’d won were somewhere in a bag that she hasn’t been able to find.

‘We’re going to keep this one safe.’

Reach Gentry Estes at gestes@gannett.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.

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As the final buzzer sounded and the gold medal in women’s basketball came down to one foot, less than a foot inside the 3-point line, there were tears on both sides of the court. The scoreboard read: United States 67, France 66.

On the French side, there were tears of sadness – for squandering a 10-point lead in the second half and coming just short of a monumental upset in front of the home fans.

On the American side, there were tears of happiness – for an eighth consecutive gold, making them the most dominant team in Olympic history in any sport.

As the two teams shook hands and exchanged greetings after the game, there were heartfelt hugs for France’s Gabby Williams, the WNBA star with dual citizenship, who hit an off-balance shot as time expired but just had her foot on the 3-point line.

After the U.S. players saluted the crowd, Sabrina Ionescu made her way to thank several special supporters sitting courtside. She hugged Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, who was there with her family.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

Team USA’s Brittney Griner, roughly 20 months after returning home from a Russian prison, gave her wife a kiss. Her path to the gold medal was unlike anyone else’s after spending 293 days in incarceration not knowing whether she’d ever play basketball again.

A’ja Wilson shook hands with five-time gold medalist Sue Bird, who was sitting with several members of the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s basketball team: Derrick White, Bam Adebayo and tournament MVP LeBron James, who was there with his family.

Former U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe and Spanish basketball great Pau Gasol were also among the celebrities sitting courtside for the gold medal game.

‘We just knew what we had to do,’ Wilson said. ‘We believed in each other and that’s the greatest thing about it.’

The United States women’s basketball team nearly watched its Olympic dominance end, but the Americans pulled out a 67-66 victory in the gold medal game against France.

A’ja Wilson had 21 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks in the win for the United States, which has now won 61 consecutive games in Olympic competition, winning the gold medal for the eighth straight time.

Gabby Williams’ banked-in shot just inside the 3-point line provided the final margin.

‘We just knew what we had to do,’ Wilson said after the game. ‘We believed in each other and that’s the greatest thing about it.’

Kahleah Copper played a huge role for Team USA, coming off the bench to score 10 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter. Copper sank two crucial free throws with 3.9 seconds left that enabled the Americans to withstand Williams’ buzzer beater.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

When asked for one word to describe the performance of Copper, Wilson gave a two-word term of endearment to describe the Phoenix Mercury All-Star guard.

‘That (expletive)!’ Wilson said before giving a look into the camera that let the rest of the world know they were sleeping on Copper’s skills.

Yes, indeed.

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PARIS — Steph Curry had a nondescript start to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

His finish to the Summer Games was almost beyond description.

Curry punctuated a slow start to his first Olympics with an incredible ending – scoring a combined 60 points in the semifinals and final and making 17-of-26 3-pointers as the U.S. won its fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal in men’s 5×5 basketball with a 98-87 victory against France on Saturday.

It’s unlikely Curry plays in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and he made the most of his opportunity.

He wasn’t the only one who took advantage – and some failed to take advantage.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

Here are the winners and losers from the 2024 Paris Olympics in the men’s 5×5 basketball event:

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Men’s 5×5 basketball winners

Steph Curry

He had 36 points, including 9-of-14 shooting on 3s against Serbia in the semifinals, and had 24 points on 8-fof-12 shooting against France in the gold-medal game. His flurry of four 3s in the final 2:47, including a vintage Curry fadeaway 3 with two French defenders on him with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter, was the coup de grace. It will go down as one of the best performances in Olympics basketball history.

USA

The men won their fifth consecutive gold medal. Even as other countries narrow the gap, when the U.S. sends its best players, it remains the team to beat. It will be even more difficult to in 2028, and USA Basketball men’s managing director Grant Hill has work to do to ensure the U.S. remains atop the FIBA basketball world.

France

France entered this event with huge expectations. It is producing top talent, including Victor Wembanyama and the top two picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, and it needed a result on the court in Paris. France was on verge of imploding after group play but rebounded for quality victories against Canada and Germany. Anything short of a medal would’ve been a huge disappointment, and a silver medal prevented that from happening.

Serbia

With three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Serbia has established itself as a medal contender in any event. It won silver at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and earned bronze at the Paris Games. It also collected silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

LeBron James

Kevin Durant

Durant became the first men’s basketball player to win four gold medals, and he will go down as one of the greatest basketball Olympians of all-time. He has 518 career Olympic points – seventh on the all-time list. No American player – male or female – has more points, and he is the U.S. men’s all-time leading rebounder.

All-Tournament team

LeBron James, USA: Averaged 14.2 points, 8.5 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals and shot 66% from the field.
Steph Curry, USA: Averaged 14.8 points, shot 50% from the field and 47.8% on 3-pointers.
Nikola Jokic, Serbia: Averaged 18.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists and shot 53.8% from the field.
Dennis Schroder, Germany: Averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 assists.
Victor Wembanyama, France: Averaged 15.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks.

Men’s 5×5 basketball losers

Canada

Canada sent to the Olympics its best team, featuring several quality NBA players, including All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. A podium finish was expected. It didn’t make it out of the quarterfinals and finished fifth after winning bronze at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Germany

Germany has never medaled in men’s 5×5 basketball at the Olympics. After winning the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Germany had the experience and continuity to medal in Paris. After an impressive performance in group play and a quarterfinals victory, it lost to France in the semifinals and Serbia in the bronze-medal game. Germany has made significant strides as a basketball nation, but this finish was a letdown.

Australia

Australia had a 24-point lead against Serbia in the quarterfinals and lost. It won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago and was in position to compete for another medal this year.

Nikola Jokic

Jokic had a great tournament. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to hear about his experience from him. He went the entire Olympics without stopping in the mixed zone to talk to reporters. He established from the start he wasn’t interested in doing media. It’s too bad one of the world’s greatest players wasn’t accommodating at least once. We know that’s his least favorite part of being a star, but contrast that to the availability of LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant at the Olympics. Even Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo spoke to reporters once.

Spain

Spain has work to do if it wants to rejoin the medal contenders. Spain finished 10th, and its golden era of the Gasol brothers (Pau, Marc) and Ricky Rubio is in the rearview mirror. It hasn’t kept up with other countries such as Germany, Serbia, France, Canada and Australia. Argentina got left behind after winning gold in 2004 and bronze in 2008. It hasn’t medaled since and did not qualify for Paris. Spain medaled in 2008 (silver), 2012 (silver) and 2016 (bronze) but didn’t medal in the next two Games.

PARIS – By the time they’d reached the gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics against Italy, members of the United States women’s volleyball team liked to joke that, since Plan A through E hadn’t come together, they were on Plan F.

And that had evolved into Plan ‘eff you,’ according to setter and captain Jordyn Poulter.

The plan ended with a silver medal, as Italy swept the Americans (25-18, 25-20, 25-17) in a match that lasted 81 minutes to deny Team USA a second consecutive gold medal. 

Injuries and inconsistent play in the months leading up to the tournament – those factors denying them opportunities to play together and left them patching together rosters when they could – had everyone within the program thinking their Olympic run may not last long, Poulter said. They hoped they would. But hope isn’t enough.

‘I don’t know what we had done as a team to make anyone, even ourselves, believe we would get here,’ Poulter said.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

The Americans entered the court Sunday to Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman.’ The ‘beast under their bed’ turned out to be Italy.

Italy controlled the proceedings immediately and led 6-1 in the first set. The second was more tightly contested but the Italians pulled away during the middle portions of the frame. And in the third, the U.S. found itself down early once again. Two aces to make it 12-6 provided the death knell. Italy had the momentum, and the decidedly pro-Italian crowd certainly helped. 

‘It-a-lia! It-a-lia!’ they chanted. 

When Jordan Thompson’s strike landed out of bounds, the team wearing blue (Italy) collapsed on the floor in a sea of hugs and lifted libero Monica de Gennaro in the air.

‘They are the best team in the world right now,’ Poulter said. ‘I don’t think there’s much more that we could have done.’

Poulter said there was a level of pride making it to the final day of the Games. A lot of this team grew up watching Michael Phelps, and that they realize gold is the standard and expectation in America.

‘But it is not an easy feat, to medal at the Olympics,’ she said.  

Most of the U.S. team plays professionally in Italy, the pro infrastructure is world-class. That level of competition is what they face every night in the Italian League. 

Italy’s opposite hitter Paola Egonu supplied the bulk of her team’s attack, as she went off for 22 kills and was by far the best player on the court. 

‘You can have a game plan against her, and she can manage to find angles … she’s an incredible player,’ Poulter said. 

The USA struggled to negotiate Italy’s block in the middle, aside from Thompson, who finished with a team-best eight kills. Lefty outside hitter Avery Skinner had seven.

‘So proud of this team and this group,’ Thompson said. ‘I really think we left absolutely everything we had out there.’ 

Italy finished with seven aces. Five came in the third set.

These Games had not been the most dominant run for the U.S. despite the silver medal. The Americans dropped their first match of the tournament to China, went five sets the next match against Serbia and battled Brazil in a back-and-forth five-setter during the semifinals Thursday. 

‘All of those pushed us to the absolute limit,’ coach Karch Kiraly said.

Italy, meanwhile, lost one set in its opening match against the Dominican Republic and then won 15 consecutive sets on the way to gold.

That the silver medalists are the lone team on the podium to celebrate their accomplishments in the immediate aftermath of a loss was bittersweet, Kiraly said.

‘But this group has done phenomenal things in these 17 days,’ Kiraly said. ‘I don’t know that we knew how much we had in us and we showed (it). … It gives me goosebumps.’

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